Ed Miliband: The NHS is our most brilliant asset; we must protect it for our grandchildren

I tried to make a different sort of speech to the Royal College of Nursing Congress yesterday. I asked them how we can help support them in their work.

I’m proud that Labour in government helped the NHS by, for instance, putting in the investment that saw the number of nurses increase by 80,000.

But  it was the health workers, the doctors, the nurses, the midwives, that rescued our NHS.

It’s easy to forget now but 15 years ago some people were saying the NHS was an old-fashioned, out-of-date idea and that the concept of a service free at the point of use had had its day.

But the nurses, midwives, doctors, and health workers proved them wrong by delivering the lowest waiting times in NHS history, dramatic improvements in standards of care, and the highest patient satisfaction in NHS history.

They showed that the NHS is not just right for our grandparents’ generation, it is right for our grandchildren too.

When I speak to nurses, one of the strongest messages I take away is that the NHS works far better when their views are taken into account.

As my party puts together a programme for government, I will be listening to nurses.

This is a different approach to the one taken by David Cameron. Just three years ago, he told the Royal College of Nursing: “There will be no more of those pointless re-organisations that aim for change but instead bring chaos.”

He then became Prime Minister and imposed the biggest top-down reorganisation in NHS history. It is broken promises like that which make people hate politics.

The Royal College of Nursing and many other groups tried to engage with the Government and express their members’ concerns about what would happen.

But the Government refused to listen to the nurses, doctors or patients who were saying that resources are being diverted away from the frontline and patients are waiting longer for treatment.

The truth is, the Government has been acting like they are the masters, not the servants, of the NHS. But they are not the masters. Nor should any government or politician try to be its master.

Our health service is owned by patients, professionals and the people.

If Labour wins the next election, we will work in partnership with staff and patients to put an end to David Cameron’s this free market free-for all.

But even in opposition we can begin work now to help the NHS.

Yesterday, we launched NHS Check. It is a new campaign that will allow staff and patients who are concerned about what’s happening to get in touch with us and tell us what they’re seeing in hospitals, clinics and GP surgeries.

What is so frustrating about the upheaval that is being imposed on the NHS now is that it is a million miles away from the change our health service really needs.

We need to bring health and social care together, to provide security for our grandparents and parents – whether they are in hospital or in their own home.

We need to do more to tackle mental health, which affects millions of families, rich and poor.

And we need to prevent illness by bringing services to people’s homes and communities.

Those are the right kind of reforms needed to sustain the NHS into the future.

Too often people write about the NHS as if it is a drain on resources and a burden to the taxpayer.

It isn’t. The NHS is the most productive, brilliant, value-for-money asset we have.

Britain would not be able to get out of bed in the morning without the NHS.

And that why, together, we must always seek to protect it.